Our core five member dev team is spread across in three states (IL, NH, and IA). There are both benefits and drawbacks to this arrangement, but I actually think we are more productive being set up this way as opposed to everyone being in the same location. This is mostly due to the lack of interruptions and the opportunity for greater focus for each member of the team. Others have realized this same phenomenon. One of the drawbacks of being apart, as I see it, is what I call "the dehumanization of work" coming from the very isolation that adds to our productivity. This phenomenon is becoming more common today with more people telecommuting and working from home. I think we're figuring out a number of ways to remedy this including coworking, video conferencing, and collaborative online work spaces, etc.

Another thing that we do to re-humanize the work experience to a degree is get together once per quarter and work along side each other in the flesh. Lately, we've been trying to devise a one-day, bite sized project to tackle together during these times.

About a week and a half ago on May 29th, we all came together at the Coop in Chicago for one of these projects. Our goal was to redesign our development website, cramerdev.com, which was badly in need of some love. I'll confess that we did have a design concept and information architecture in place before the day of the project, but the building of the site all took place in one shortened day (with a little polishing on the following Monday).

For such a short project timeline, I think we're all very pleased with the results. In sum, the project consisted of a bit more than a simple redesign (we needed something for the developers to do):

• Total Site Redesign
• All New Content / Copy
• New Information Architecture
• Rewrite of the Blog Formatting Engine in Markup Factory

We built the site on our hosted content management system, Markup Factory, using the blog engine for our latest news section and Datasets, MFScript, and Dynamic Snippets for the Our Work section of the site. We used the Form Builder to create quick contact form for requesting quotes and information.

"Iowa?" you ask, "Where the heck is Iowa?" Many have joked, including our good friends over at Smash Online. We are not Ohio, that is a few states east. And we are not "the potato state," that would be Idaho. We are Iowa, an agriculturally focused state nestled in the heart of the midwest. We are south of Minnesota and just west of Illinois.

As you are reading this, you may be thinking to yourself, "Well, what does Iowa have to offer? Anything!?" Little do you know, this state has probably touched your life in more ways than one. For starters, you may be familiar with the famous Iowa Caucuses, a well-known first step in the presidential nomination process for both the Republican and Democratic parties. We've even grown a president of our own here in Iowa. Herbert Hoover, our country's 31st president was born and raised in this heartland state.

While we are on the topic of famous people, here is another name that may ring a bell, John Wayne. Surely you have seen or heard of the award winning actor. Too young for John Wayne movies? You may be more familiar with Elijah Wood whose acting career exploded when he played the role of Frodo Baggins in "The Lord of the Rings" Trilogy. Honestly, who hasn't seen those movies? Ashton Kutcher, Johnny Carson, and Buffalo Bill join the ranks of famous people born in Iowa.

Grant Wood, the well known painter of American Gothic is also an Iowan. (We do want to note, however, that we don't all stand around carrying pitch forks.) If you are more familiar with musicians, you may recognize Glen Miller or Slipknot. Those corn-fed boys sure know their music!

So now you know where Iowa is. You even have a few facts about the state. These will come in handy at your next dinner party or public event. Share them with your friends and family, and be sure to stop in and say hello on your next vacation!